Mad, Bad and Blonde by Cathie Linz Read Free Book Online Page A

your fault. Not at all. You have nothing to feel guilty about. I, on the other hand, have quite a bit to feel guilty about. Number one: that I didn’t tell you about Caine before now. Number two: that I was so stupid to fall for this guy’s act. Number three: that I didn’t just stay in Chicago and face the music. Number four: that I left you all to deal with it for me.”
    “Don’t worry about us. Everything here is fine. You know how organized your mom is. She’s handled everything just fine.”
    “Is she mad that I haven’t called her?”
    “No, she understands.”
    “Well, she wouldn’t understand this new mess I’m in, so don’t tell her about it.”
    “Don’t worry. I already pinkie swore, remember?”
    “Thanks, Megan, for being there for me when I need you.”
    “I just wish I really was there and not here.”
    “You better get some sleep. You’ve got to work in the morning.”
    Megan groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
    “Love you, cuz.”
    “Love you too.”
    Faith ended the call and stepped to the window, where she had a new view of Positano, similar to the one in her previous room but now one floor lower. She remembered her arrival here in Positano when she’d first seen the picture-perfect display of bright white buildings and pastel houses perched against the cliffs. So much had changed since then. If only she hadn’t met Caine, hadn’t fallen for his fake charm, hadn’t ended up in his bed. That had changed everything.
    One thing was still the same, though. Her stomach was growling.
    Paco, bless his heart, had made sure that a delicious breakfast was brought to her new room along with her packed bags. Faith wasn’t really hungry, despite her noisy tummy, but she needed to keep her strength up, so she nibbled on a flaky croissant smothered with lemon marmalade.
    She wasn’t about to waste her final morning moping around her room.
    When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Not that Faith had ever really gone for that saying before, but she was a new woman now.
    No more frumpy librarian clothes for her.
    Okay, so she’d never worn frumpy clothes, but she’d never gone for edgy look-at-me outfits before. That was all about to change. Positano had plenty of specialty boutiques, and she was going to hit all of them her last day here.

    “I’m telling you, Vince, she’s no threat,” Caine told his boss over the phone. “Hell, she’s spent most of her time here sightseeing.”
    Well, there had been some incredible sex last night, but he wasn’t sharing that intel with his boss. That was strictly on a need-to-know basis, and Vince didn’t need to know that Caine had compromised his impartiality by letting his dick think for him.
    Not that having sex with Faith had diminished Caine’s determination to clear his father’s name. In fact, her overconfident claim that she knew her father was right about everything had only served to reinforce Caine’s drive to prove her wrong. His mission remained the same: clear his dad’s name.
    “You’re sure she hasn’t contacted Stalotti in Naples? He hasn’t signed on the dotted line yet for us to do the work for his new Chicago office.”
    “I checked her cell phone yesterday. The only calls have been to her cousin in Chicago.”
    “What about her father? Hasn’t she called him?”
    “No. Not before today.”
    “That seems strange,” Vince, ever the paranoid, said. “Why wouldn’t she call her father more frequently than that?”
    “Do you have any proof that West even knows about Stalotti?”
    “I don’t need proof. I trust my gut on these things. Stalotti’s headquarters are in Naples. He has a summer house in Positano. What’s the West daughter doing now?”
    “Shopping.” Caine had followed her from the hotel to the heart of Positano, where he’d watched her buy a water-color painting of the harbor area from one of the many artists displaying their work along the bougainvillea-covered lane there.
    “So you’re